Fab Four makes history, back in national semifinals

Nov 10, 2012

Photo credit Yan Doublet

OTTAWA (CIS) – History was made on Saturday when Laval,
Acadia, McMaster and Calgary all repeated as conference champions
to advance to the CIS football semifinals. The same four teams had
never made it to the national Bowl games in back-to-back years.

The Uteck and Mitchell Bowls are set for next Saturday, Nov. 17,
at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Both will be televised live on
TSN and RDS.

The RSEQ champion and second-ranked Rouge et Or (10-1) will host
the AUS titlist and No. 9 Axemen (8-1) in the Uteck at
TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City.

In the Mitchell, the OUA champion and top-ranked McMaster
Marauders (10-0) will host the Canada West champ and No. 3 Dinos
(9-1) at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton.

Laval, McMaster and Calgary all extended or established record
streaks on Saturday.

The Rouge et Or added to their own all-time CIS marks with a
10th consecutive conference title, as well as their 57th win in a
row on home turf since 2004. The Marauders won their 20th straight
overall game dating back to Week 3 of the 2011 schedule to top
Laval’s previous CIS record set from 2004 to 2005. The Dinos
became the first team in history to capture five straight Canada
West banners.

In last year’s national semifinals, McMaster defeated
Acadia 45-21 in the Uteck Bowl (at Acadia), while Laval outscored
Calgary 41-10 in the Mitchell (at Calgary). The Marauders then
claimed their first-ever Vanier Cup title with a memorable 41-38
overtime win over the Rouge et Or in Vancouver.

At TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City, the
Rouge et Or jumped to a 16-0 lead seven minutes into the game and
never looked back en route to their 16th straight win over
Sherbrooke since the Vert & Or joined the RSEQ league in
2003.

Sherbrooke cut the deficit to 16-10 midway through the second
quarter but the locals responded with two quick touchdowns to go
into the halftime break with a comfortable 30-10 cushion, to the
delight of the capacity crowd of 14,914.

As expected, Laval dominated on the ground with 309 rushing
yards to Sherbrooke’s 32. Maxime Boutin, with 119 yards on
only six carries, and Guillaume Bourassa, with 19 rushes for 112
yards and a major, both went over the century mark.

Rouge et Or quarterback Tristan Grenon completed 10 of 20 passes
for 131 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also scored
on a pair of one-yard plunges.

For Sherbrooke, the duo of Jérémi Roch and
Sébastien Blanchard put up impressive numbers in the losing
cause. Roch was 28-of-48 for 306 yards, one score and two picks,
while Blanchard caught 12 balls for 182 yards.

At Raymond Field in Wolfville, N.S., the Axemen got all they
could handle from Saint Mary’s but a remarkable defensive
performance lifted them to their second straight AUS final win over
the Huskies, in front of 2,678 fans. Acadia prevailed 39-20 in last
year’s Loney Bowl.

Holding on to a slim 10-9 lead with less than seven minutes
remaining, the Axemen sealed the win with two late safeties and a
28-yard Ryan Begin field goal with 52 seconds left on the
clock.

Amazingly, Acadia’s defence allowed only one passing
completion all afternoon, for a loss of five yards. Saint
Mary’s finished with 97 yards of total offence and only nine
first downs, including three on penalties.

Reigning two-time AUS MVP Kyle Graves was a modest 10-of-24 for
110 yards, one touchdown and one interception but the Axemen
received a 181-yard rushing effort from conference rookie of the
year Thomas Troop.

Jesse St. James led the way on defence with seven tackles,
including 5.5 for losses and a pair of sacks, as well as a fumble
recovery. Drew Morris had a game-high 10.5 tackles.

At Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, OUA MVP Kyle Quinlan completed
80 per cent of his passes and added a team-high 70 yards on the
ground as the Marauders took a 21-3 lead early in the second
quarter and cruised to their second straight Yates Cup win, in
front of a packed house of 5,427.

Guelph racked up 30 first downs to McMaster’s 20 but was
hurt by three interceptions against quarterback Jazz Lindsey, who
went 29-of-47 for 319 yards and also rushed four times for 31 yards
and a touchdown.

Quinlan didn’t have to be spectacular to lead his troops
to victory and was a consistent 16-of-20 for 265 yards, a pair of
majors and one pick. Michael DiCroce was his favourite target with
seven receptions for 114 yards, while Robert Babic and Tyler
Loveday each caught a TD pass.

Shane Beaton was all over the field on defence for the winners
with a match-high 10 solo tackles, including three for losses, and
a pass breakup.

At McMahon Stadium in Calgary, conference MVP Eric Dzwilewski
passed for 381 yards and running back Steven Lumbala rushed 22
times for 251 yards as the Dinos broke open a close game in the
third quarter en route to their record-setting fifth straight Hardy
Cup triumph.

Calgary racked up 658 yards of total offence compared to 335 for
Regina, thanks in large part to Dzwilewski and Lumbala but also to
Jake Harty, who set a Canada West record for a playoff game with 15
receptions, good for 168 yards. His 15 catches rank second on the
CIS post-season list, one short of the national mark.

Dzwilewski completed 33 of 46 passes, including a 35-yard
touchdown strike to Richard Snyder, but was intercepted three
times. The third-year quarterback added a pair of rushing majors,
both from one yard out.

The contest was closer than the final score seems to indicate.
Regina took a 14-11 lead midway through the third quarter but
Calgary closed out the affair with 27 answered points.

Playing in his final university game, senior pivot Marc Mueller
went 26-of-40 for 316 yards, one score and one interception for the
Rams. Landon Buch was on the receiving end of seven of his passes
and finished with 144 yards.